Hollow Dream
by SilverRoseSpectre
Summary: The danger was over; Orphan was gone. It was the start of a new era, but one that began in fear and anger. In a strange turn of events, Hope is now a Sanctum l'cie, with hundreds of others and they all are denied migration to Pulse. But he is set on reuniting with his friends from earlier battles and he's determined to win this one. A little Hope x OC. FFXIII and XIII-2
1. Chapter 1

a/n: Hi there. Please enjoy, this will be quite a lengthy story I hope. Some things will need to be explained as I go along but the introductory chapter doesn't have too much taxing information I hope. Let me know if its any good ^^.

* * *

"Shit..." whispered Snow, ducking down and pulling Serah with him by her hand. She stooped and carefully rested into his side.

"What is it?"

"Patrol... they've put a barricade, we're gonna have to take the _really_ long way round."

"That doesn't matter. If it takes longer than we want it to, then it takes longer. What's really important is protecting our people."

"You're right, babe," he grinned wryly, falling in love with her all over again.

* * *

"Move, move!" urged Hope, swatting his hand towards the frightened masses as drones and armed troops came swarming in on them all. He mentally cursed feeling so aimless but his primary motive was to get rid of their pursuers. The Vile Peaks, the spot he had found himself dumped in, had ample hiding spots at least. What, with the rubble and uneven terrain, they easily had the upper hand. The armed forces weren't going to make that much of an effort to clear them all up - the focus was primarily on keeping the cursed and forsaken people on Cocoon and away from ships boarding to Pulse.

Everything was supposed to be okay. They'd felled Orphan, Fang and Vanille had sacrificed themselves for the good of mankind and saved Cocoon from plummeting straight out of orbit, Lightning had fought to the death. They were supposed to have won and be left to enjoy their bittersweet victory. For a while, everything really was fine. Serah sprinted towards them, free from her stasis and they mourned the loss of Fang and Vanille, and Lightning especially. But it seemed a new hope was on the horizon.

And then, the dream all ended; the reality scraped their joviality away. It seemed as if Cocoon itself had retaliated to mankind's triumph. Hundreds, potentially thousands, had been dragged under a wave of mysterious force - transformed into a power they thought dead. The world had become awash with Sanctum L'cie.

And it frightened the rest of the population. They demanded the l'cie be left behind as not to pollute their new world with damaged goods. And someone somewhere had listened to their pleading and set up a pseudo-governmental force to keep the l'cie up, and take those who were spared down to their better lives.

"Everyone, move to higher or lower ground!" he ordered, figuring that the best means of avoiding the oncoming troops was to place a level between them. They were scaremongering rather than cleaning up anyway.

He knew not everyone would obey but at this point; he didn't know if it was his problem anymore either. And he knew they had no reason to listen to a kid anyway, even if that kid had battled through more harrowing experiencing in his few years than they had ever done. They weren't to know. But the majority saw sense in his advice and dispersed.

He forced himself to let go of his compassion for just a moment and let the damned be damned. Maybe they'd get lucky somewhere.

He hurdled over a rusted metal beam and vaulted down to lower ground, searching for some kind of opening. He didn't know what was going on as he tumbled sideways dramatically; it would've been comical any other time. All he knew is that something had a grip on his wrist and panic froze him in place as he assumed the worst. Better to expect that than to be optimistic and complacent. (Idly, he reflected that maybe Lightning wasn't gone at all, and was just living on in his mind as his conscience. That absolutely sounded like an ideology she would have.)

When nothing happened and the forces swept past his location, he dared to breath and searched for the source of his capture. His head turned to his right, where he'd been snared by and he was met with another head and eyes boring into his soul. The old and cowardly Hope would've whimpered and tried to pull back but this Hope poised himself ready to retaliate should this figure grasping him try anything suspicious.

To his bewilderment, his wrist was relinquished, but that didn't mean he relaxed any. The pseudo-soldier in him laughed at how stupid that idea was. (And the mini-Lightning in his conscious joined him).

"Sorry," whispered a feminine voice. "You were about to overlook this spot..."

So... was this girl a savior.

"Come out into the light," Hope instructed softly.

There was some vague shuffling sounds and finally, a lithe girl emerged, standing straight. He couldn't help a slight gawk as her red hair tumbled down over her shoulders and ended at the bottom of her back. She was dressed most bizarre - in deep purple cloth wound around her figure, unlike anything Cocoon had ever witnessed in its vibrant fashion scene. Her knees were scuffed above her brown leather-looking well-worn boots and her bangle adorned arms were dirtied and bruised. Her eyes were green and sharp but exhaustion lulled beneath them, her pert nose had been broken sometime or another, and her pale red lips were pulled into a tight, uncertain grimace.

She carried the vibes of a fighter, but the body and face of a catwalk model and her hair seemed highly impractical to combat and survival. Until she pulled it over her shoulder awkwardly and twisted the length up into some fashion of a bun and tied it up.

"A-Am I in trouble?" she stammered awkwardly, playing with her hair. Hope couldn't hold back a demure laugh at the idea he'd intimidated her so much.

"No, I was just surprised. I didn't realize you were a person; thought a machine or monster got me. Or worse; the troops."

"Oh, yeah. That would be unfortunate but the machines are easy to malfunction because they're so old..." she mumbled awkwardly.

"Hope you know how to do that 'cos I don't... c'mon, let's get out of here. It's best if we keep moving!"

He made to start weaving through all of the trash but halted when he realized his were the only footsteps. The girl stood, hands weaved together and frowned at him lightly. He paused and turned.

"What's wrong..?" he asked, concerned.

"It's just... I don't know you. And yet, you're being quite kind. I'm overwhelmed..."

"Well, now is no time for nastiness but I wouldn't be anyway. If it... makes you feel better, my name is Hope. Hope Estheim. And, since we're in the same boat, maybe we should stick together until we're safer. Two's company, right?"

"... I'm Fiala," she replied weakly and looked overhead as drones stormed by. She looked back at Hope and nodded. "Hang on," she said, ducking down and going back into her hiding hole for a moment before emerging with a small metallic spear. "For... for fighting, and protection... you know?"

Hope nodded and smiled slightly, inclining his head towards an opening. Fiala hooked her spear through her belt, tip pointing down and followed his lead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hollow Dream, Chapter 2**

a/n: Well, I can see this at least has views if nothing else which is good enough for me. I don't think I have anything to explain in this chapter besides. one thing; I am fitting stuff to make sense with my story, so if you think it sounds unfamiliar - it's because I made it up. But, why else is called fanfiction if not to tweak little things? -_^

* * *

"Classic," chortled Snow as he posed arrogantly in his new Trooper attire, stolen ruthlessly from the unconscious subject at his feet. Serah rolled her eyes but held a fond smile regardless of her partners antics. The armor was too loose on her to wear so if they were caught, they decided she'd play prisoner.

"C'mon babe," said Snow, waving his newly acquired gun and pointing. "We'll head West to their main camp and nab us a hovercycle. Be much faster than going on foot."

"Good idea," she said, prancing after him as he set off. "Snow... do you think Hope's okay?"

"Kids tougher than he looks. Lightning drilled into him good and hard how to take stuff on the chin. I tell ya, Sis could spread ideals like a-"

"Snow..." Serah whimpered, trying to fight the sting in her eyes. "... Is Lightning really gone? Was I... was it in my head?"

"... No," he said softly, looking aimlessly skyward. "We can't see her, but she's not gone. I don't know where she is..."

"Do you... do you believe she's in the crystal pillar?"

"I dunno," he said, turning to her and scratching his head. "I try to recall it all but, the memory's fuzzy, you know?" he frowned, tapping his head. "Fang and Vanille are there for sure but... I don't remember Lightning being part of that. Wherever she is, I think it's somewhere else."

"Are you just saying that to please me?"

"No. I'd never lie to you, babe. You know that! I want Lightning back too and I believe she's out there. We just gotta find her somehow."

"Yeah... somehow."

* * *

Fiala was agile, maybe as much as he was. They'd been able to keep on their feet and cover a large distance but had finally agreed to get some shut eye when dawn was approaching, having verged on ahead all through the night since the previous afternoon. One of the things Hope had made sure to do when this crisis began was acquire a watch. He was ashamed to say he'd snatched it straight from a civilians wrist; but needs must and he was desperate.

They weren't alone. They'd grouped up with 7 other people who were all on the run from the initial group of running l'cie and split into three units, all maintaining some distance from each other. It was practical; they had a lot of ground covered this way and people fighting at both sides to keep the whole group safe.

Hope scoured the surroundings and his eyes settled upon a discarded sheet of metal that looked like it might have once belonged to the wing of an aircraft and pulled it over, propping it against other materials and scrap to make a makeshift shelter.

"Get under, it might stop the breeze and keep the bad weather out," he offered to Fiala.

"What will you do?"

"I'm gonna wait for everyone else to turn up and explain that we're taking a rest and, well, do a register I guess."

She nodded and shuffled under the sheet, propping up a pole to keep it more secured. It was lightweight so it wouldn't be too bad if it collapsed on her but she wanted the little assurance. Against her will, her lids cascaded down and she was in a light slumber within minutes.

Hope watched her slump over to one side and laughed, wondering if this is how he looked to Lightning. Feeble and soft. That thought wandered into realizing that this is how his journey began the last time; running from forces through Bresha and the Vile Peaks, heading to the familiarity of Palumpolum. He asked himself; was he doomed to repeating this course of action for the rest of his life perhaps? He decided there and then that if he ever found himself milling through this area again, running from forces, heading for Palumpolum and tagging with a band of strangers, that it might be fate and instead of obliging, he was going to sit down on the spot and refuse to cooperate with its machinations.

Conversely, maybe that was what his fate was - to sit down and give up. In which case he'd have to carry on ahead. He blinked rapidly, finding the thoughts too dizzying and it was foolish of him to have been distracted momentarily. The other travelers were verging over the edge and he hadn't even seen them advancing. He waved out to them and beckoned them forward to his location.

* * *

Fiala grumbled, and felt the strange urge to utter "10 more minutes, mom." But her memories took a landslide to the front of her brain and she recalled that her mother would be long gone by now, so it was surely not her who was rousing her. She cracked one eye open slowly and was ambushed by soft, haywire blonde hair in her immediate view. Bemused, she sat up and twisted her fists into her eyes to rub away the sleep and found Hope knelt down in front of her, one hand pushed into her shoulder.

"G'morning," she grumbled indignantly, dissatisfied with her quality of sleep. It earned a soft chuckle and Hope fell back gently so he was sat before her.

"You had a good five hours, you know? We've all regrouped and refreshed. We're taking the back today and we're going in teams of three instead of irregular numbers. The first group already set off; we need to be going in 20 minutes."

She nodded and stretched, yawning. Her fist bumped the top of the sheet she'd slept under and she vaguely wondered why it was there until she recalled Hope dragging the makeshift shelter out for her. And then, she blushed. Because it was awfully sweet gesture unlike anything she'd seen before.

"Mr. Estheim," called a voice. A brown haired, thirty-something year old man pulled a bag further onto his shoulders and turned with a young doe-eyed looking girl and a sullen teenage boy either side of him. "We'll be dispatching now."

"Alright," nodded Hope. "Stay safe..."

"You too, Mr. Estheim."

"Mr. Estheim," giggled Fiala. She put on a mockingly serious tone. "Reporting, Mr. Estheim. We shall commence our operation, Mr. Estheim."

"Stop it," grinned Hope, blushing slightly. He found it embarrassing to be addressed to formally for no real reason. He dared to shove her gently but found she was quite a solid presence and the amount of pressure he'd put into his action barely moved her at all. He wanted to ask, but now didn't seem the time for banter. She giggled and poked him back.

"Hope," said a woman, coming round the corner holding three bottles in her hands and a bag over her shoulder. "This was all I could salvage."

"It's fine, Rosse. I'm sure what you gathered will be enough. Fiala, this is Rosse - Rosse, Fiala. She'll be joining us in the back look out."

Fiala nodded and watched as Rosee stepped up to her and held out a bottle of water, smiling politely. Fiala nodded gratefully and took a quick sip, finding the taste bitter but refreshing. Rosse was maybe in her 40's, but had clearly placed her life in Hope's hands judging by the way she spoke courteously to him and obliged more than suggested.

Fiala could only guess that Hope had done something to earn the respect and trust he was getting, especially for someone older than him to be accepting all he was saying. She supposed she would be compliant too, then.

* * *

It was hardly a surprise for them to find the Gapra Whitewoods virtually desolate. The sanctum had fallen into disrepair and there was no need to govern Cocoon anymore, what with the mass migration down to Pulse. The new military forces were focusing their efforts on Pulse too. Hope didn't know their name, only that they had something like 'IGF' or 'IGC' emblazoned on their armor. He wasn't concerned with figuring out their title. He just wanted to get around them and get to Pulse safe and sound.

With his father, of course. He ambled on with Rosse and Mars, having taken up stance at the middle squad. Somehow, his desire to go to Palumpolum to retrieve his father had been met with agreement for them ALL to go. They realized there would probably be a ship, ferrying citizens down to Pulse and there was a chance they could stow aboard. And amongst a crowd, they were less likely to get noticed. It worked out nicely for all involved.

He was nervous, deep down, even if he wasn't showing it. There was a chance his father hadn't survived, or was in the same situation as him. Last he knew, the Cavalry had looked after his father, but once things had settled down and there wasn't any "Pulse threat" or the like, what became of him then? He was pinning all his hopes on his childhood home in Felix heights.

He was nervously fiddling with his fingers. He hadn't noticed this nervous tic, until one night when he couldn't sleep, in the plains of the Archylte Steppe, Vanille swooped down to his side and asked what got him on edge. He tried to lie, and she had pointed out the telltale sign.

And distantly, he wondered why he was so anxious. If tragedy had befallen his father... then he would have to go on and accept it; trudge through life an orphan. It was sad, it was difficult, but it was also what had to be done. His time as a Pulse l'cie, with the pick 'n' mix group all in the same plight, had taught him to let go of the things that would hold him back.

It was after drawing this conclusion that he decided his concern must be much more immediate. He figured by now that he might have some instinct for such things and stepped ahead before the girls, holding his arms out.

"Quiet," he whispered.

He paced forward nimbly, his steps not making a sound. The two women behind him tried to follow his subtle grace and their eyelids peeled back as they stared in shock at the dozing Behemoth before them.

"We're gonna sneak past," ordered Hope, gluing himself to the nearby wall.

Rosse and Fiala nodded keenly, not wishing to make any utterances for fear of gaining the beasts attention. They mimicked his actions and slid across the wall as discreetly as possible, on the bring of fear.

It all came apart when they were little over midway. Fiala misstepped, and plodded on the back of Hope's shoe but rather than ignore it - she made a total fuss, the situation at hand flying out of her mind for a moment. He slammed his palm to her mouth practically but this only drew more alert and the knife-like tail of the Behemoth swished round, playfully like it were a cat. It rose to its feet, letting out a grumbling yawn and stretching as though to rid itself of post-sleep ache and stiffness.

"Hit it with anything with a water affinity!" declared Hope, verging into battle. "We can't out run it!"

"Are you serious!?" cried Fiala.

"Dead serious," remarked Hope darkly, whipping out his faithful Airwing from his pouch.

He flicked it from his hand, and balled his fist up tightly, nagivating the boomerang through the air craftily. Meanwhile, the battle shy Rosse seemed to be digging into her bag for something useful. Fiala figured it was useless to stay stationary and she wasn't leaving it all to Hope. She charged forward and drove her spear into one of the Behemoth's legs, quickly yanked it out and darted elsewhere.

Hope really had thought they had the situation under control, until a swipe from one of the monsters paws resulted in Fiala being disarmed.

"Use magic!" he roared, "WATER!"

Fiala took a few steps back and shook her head in horror before his words finally made any impact on her brain. She grew brave, as she reached behind her. Hope averted his eyes and carried on casting all the magic he could, thinking it was okay.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fiala uncapping her water bottle and he couldn't help the momentary stagger in his attack. Nonchalantly, she tossed the contents up towards the nose of the fiend and waited, expecting an effect. It only served to anger the Behemoth however and she fast realised it had been a mistake. Hope darted forward and barged his shoulder into her body, slamming her to the floor. He felt bad, but it was for her safety.

With confidence, he tossed his boomerang dead centre between the creatures eyes and pulled all of his might and magic into a devasting aquatic spell that brought the creature down in one go. Hope bent his back over, panting slightly from the exertion.

So, he was a little out of whack. He'd not had anything to fight for a few months and he'd just cast a great big chunk of magic in one big blast there. He looked to the floor where the discarded water bottle laid and then drifted his gaze over to Fiala who was wincing and rubbing her side, looking sheepish and downtrodden.

"Sorry," he mumbled, torn between rage and laughter.

She'd taken his command to hurl water at the creature so literally, but it had almost cost her her life. And maybe, just maybe, she wasn't much of a fighter after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hollow Dream - Chapter 3**

a/n: As you will see in this chapter, my imagination has come into play and I've made stuff up to fit the story. Additional Chapters from here on might not be as swift - three chapters in three days :P but I'll try to be as prompt as possible however. Thank you to those who are reading :3 You make this rose a happy flower. Also, long chapter yet (2,000+ words) so grab a chair (or other comfy sitting utensil), sit down and enjoy.

* * *

Hope felt an incredible burden on his shoulders as he took a moment to sit down with his companions and assess his situation. He was with two inexperienced fighters and had to look out for them as well as himself. In the past, the others had all had a little experience at the very least. He was the black sheep out of them all at the time. Now, the tables were turned and he was _still_ the minority. It was becoming a theme in his life.

He watched Rosse fumble about with a box of band aids and ask Fiala if she needed any. The girl shook her head and smiled up kindly at the older woman, smart enough to ask the same in return. Rosse blushed in embarrassment, explaining she hadn't really fought or got into the fray _at all_.

"We needn't use band aids anyway," said Fiala. This caught his attention and he turned to her curiously, capping the water bottle he'd been carefully sipping from. He was going to have to share with Fiala since she'd tossed hers over a Behemoth, after all.

"Why's that?" he asked.

Fiala smiled and shot up to her feet skillfully, brushing her garment free of any imaginary dust and dirt and approached one of the branches that was slumping onto the pathway. Carefully, she rubbed a leaf between her finger and thumb and grinned, plucking it away.

"These are pretty restorative. Not all of them, but some of them have been purposely mutated to have healing properties."

"Huh, that makes sense," nodded Hope, raising one brow. "From what I can remember, this place is for bioweapon research. The Sanctum brought monsters here to turn them into their loyal ... pets," he scoffed to himself. "Suppose they got injured on the way, something small they can just grab might be useful."

"It heals a few layers at a time, but goes as deep as the bone," said Fiala, plucking a few more off and kneeling down, placing one on a scuffed knee, over a pale brown bruise. "So, say you had a bruise... it'd reach in and... weave you back together, I suppose!" she said chirpily, removing the leaf and revealing her pale, clearer skin.

Hope was surprised at just how effective it seemed to be. A deep wound would take several leaves, probably, but it was still a fast and effective method. He was about to suggest they take some along but Fiala had beaten him to the idea and was stripping the branch bare of as many leaves as she could. She stroked the empty branch and sighed.

"You'll grow 'em back," she promised quietly. "It's like... getting your hair chopped!"

He wondered if Fiala had _ever _had her hair chopped, judging by the length of it. She twirled round and held up the stack of leaves, grinning. Her demeanor had completely changed from when she'd first joined up with him; a playful optimistic side had emerged in her. He was pleased... to get through the coming days, a dash of hope was just what they needed.

* * *

Serah gazed at the device in Snow's hand curiously before fixing her eyes back onto him. He sighed quietly and shook his head.

"Nothing. There's a few fights and complaints here and there but it's all angry, scared citizens. No reports of l'cie or anything I could assume was Hope's doing."

Serah nodded. It was neither good or bad news. She wanted to be as optimistic as possible though. Taking a deep breath in and sighing it out, she set her eyes forward again, leaning back into Snow comfortably. He seemed to be taking the same approach, accounting for his silence.

But this was broken after a long while. He nudged her side lightly and nodded his head.

"Here's a warm sight," he grinned, eyes sweeping over the sea and sand of Bodhum. He'd missed his home. "Looks pretty empty - why don't' we rest here?" he offered.

"Can we go to Lightning's?" whispered Serah.

Snow didn't answer her, but he turned the bike northeast slightly and descended swiftly, a familiar nut shaped glass building coming into view. They landed in the patch outside and hopped off the bike, wandering in.

Snow kept behind Serah, watching her carefully. He was scared she might break to pieces being back here. There were good and bad memories swirling in the air, ready to burst. He knew she'd want to come here if they were stopping in Bodhum, hence why he didn't object. He'd probably break her spirit if he did. And it meant Serah could gather a few bits and pieces; keep safes of her beloved sister.

They entered the kitchen and Snow scoffed lightly at the dishes on the side. For all the strict values and practices she held in her work, Lightning's aptitude to housekeeping suffered greatly. It seemed Serah noticed the dirty dish pile too - and not to his surprise she huffed over to the counter and pulled on the pale pink rubber gloves.

"She couldn't be bothered doing some simple cleaning up before she left?!" asked Serah, falsely outraged. Lightning had fled after the Bodhum Vestige the moment she realized Serah was trapped. Snow briefly reflected that maybe some strange sense of guilt was compelling Serah to do the washing up.

* * *

It was well and truly into the night, and they were soaking in the chance to sleep on a warm bed. Or at least, Snow was. Trying to anyway. But he was too focused on keeping an eye on Serah. She'd decided to whip out her strict inner domestic-goddess on the whole place and hadn't stopped. Lightning was a solider of the battlefield; but Serah was just as battle ready if the place of concern was Home. Presently, she was rifling through Lightning's clothing.

"I know she didn't go out much in her spare time, when she had any, but there's no excuse to be so plain..." said Serah, holding up a shirt which was exactly the same as 2 others she'd found. She'd folded one up tightly and put it into a backpack that she wanted to take with her. "It's as if she was social out of courtesy, not the desire to actually mingle!"

Snow didn't reply, just smirked lightly and turned his gaze upwards, staring at the night sky, glowing softly with stars. He wondered if there was a fal'cie to control that - and would they all just blink out were that fal'cie were destroyed. A large number of them were dormant now but sustained their purposes still. Some, however, were enraged by the defiance of people such as himself.

He was stopped his train of thought before he became enraged by the past. He'd turn on his side just in time to see Serah bring a fleece sweater up and inhale deeply, and it stirred him. He was never one to dwell on the negative but seeing his beloved so torn up ate away at him slightly.

Instead he turned his thoughts to something lighter and more entertaining to think about... If Lightning knew that right now Snow was on her bed in nothing but his boxers, she'd have choked him.

* * *

Serah gave the living room and kitchen a once over before nodding at the derelict house and closing the door, locking it and pocketing the key. She didn't stay lingering by the door for too long even though this was her ultimate farewell to a place she had extraordinarily sentimental feelings attached to.

Snow was securing their bags to the back of the cycle they'd abducted and hopped onto the seat, revving it up to go. Serah dashed over with some sense of urgency even though there was no way on Pulse he'd leave her behind; and she knew it.

"We should get to Palumpolum in about 5-6 hours if we make a clear route," he said as she slotted down in front of him on the seat.

"Well, no time to waste then," she said with a mild smile.

She bowed her head down with the desire to hide her delicate and fragile tears from Snow. She wasn't going to worry him with her heartache right now.

* * *

The urge to yawn was overwhelming. They entire gang had taken a short nap break, which quelled any immediate tiredness. But it wasn't good for the long term. Hope was just happy to have a chance to amble along in the middle instead of having to be completely alert on the front or rear of their small brigade. The heart of Palumpolum was maybe 40 minutes away by now and the greenery they were basked within was a nice change of scenery from all the machinery and clinical environments they'd trudged through so far.

He sighed inwardly to himself when suddenly a hand pasted itself to his forehead. He staggered back with a light yell and glanced upwards first before raising a brow at Fiala. For some reason, she'd found it appropriate to smack one of the curing leaves onto his head.

"What the..?"

"I'm wondering if it works on the brain and stops you looking so sluggish," she said, walking backwards to remain in front of him. Hope panicked slightly and peeled the foliage off.

"What if it does something irreversible, like send my brain to childhood!?"

"Well, you don't look TOO far from a childhood age..."

"Hey, I'm 14!"

"I'm 15," she said with a smug twist of a smirk, as if this made her better somehow.

"37!" piped in Rosse, thinking it was some sort of necessity to announce her age. But the teens ignored her and carried on calmly glaring at each other, trying not to show both contempt and arrogance towards each other.

Hope didn't know if he was excited or annoyed at the challenge clearly issued by the fire burning in Fiala's eyes. It was interesting though, that much was certain.

Out of the blue, his lips parted and teeth clashed into a full bursting grin. He poked her shoulder sharply and she swerved out of the way without him even perceiving her move. His eyes widened and he tried again, only to get a retaliating prod to his brow. From there on it was war.

"I think my leaf worked, you know..." gaped Fiala after a while.

"Huh, why'd you think?"

"You're acting like such a kid," she teased, grinning slowly.

"Hey, not funny!" he sulked, not realizing his mistake until she laughed even more at his sour expression. He rolled his eyes at her. "You're not behaving much better yourself, you know?"

"Just because I'm older, doesn't mean I'm grown up," she deadpanned.

He didn't have much of an argument to that. In fact, he had more imminent problems. He tried to snatch at her but she maneuvered her shoulder out of reach.

"You're gonna f-!"

Flat on her backside, Fiala had toppled over a barrier dramatically and slammed onto the ground behind it. Hope sprinted over the barrier and hopped it, kneeling down to her side. He'd been so absorbed in his mini-war he hadn't seen it until it was too late.

"Are you okay?" he asked, placing his hand under hers and raising it up slightly as a gesture of concern.

"I feel... dizzy and sore," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm such an idiot."

"If you were an idiot, you wouldn't have identified those leaves," he comforted kindly, reaching into her pocket and plucking a silver coated leaf out. "Why don't you put that on your back to sooth it? It's what they're for, after all," he smiled.

"Right, good thing I brought them... But..." she mumbled, tilting her head. "I think I'm hallucinating... There's a really big fly up there."

Hope glanced over his shoulder and looked directly in her line of sight, his eyes widening in awe. There really was a big fly... of sorts.

An aircraft. And a cocky blonde aboard it giving him the thumbs up and some sleazy kind of a grin.

"Stupid," Hope grumbled under his breath. But in the same go, he exhaled in relief at the certainty of a helping hand from a self-proclaimed hero.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hollow Dream - Chapter 4**

a/n: Not a lot of Fiala here, but some nice bonding between Serah and Hope (I hope...).

And I kind of remembered this a bit too late... But uh, _Disclaimer_: I am certainly not the owner of Final Fantasy XIII or else this is how the game would've turned out, of course :P

* * *

"So, Commander Hope," said Snow, inclining his head behind them. "What's the plan of action?"

"I... I didn't have one," answered Hope honestly. "If we got here, and we couldn't do anything, or if we ended up in danger... I didn't wanna feel like a failure, you know?"

"It's alright. Like I said - Heroes-"

"-Don't need a plan," Hope said, rolling his eyes and trying to suppress a smile. He glanced at the group he'd accumulated going through the Vile Peaks as they all awaited instruction. He sighed and shook his head. "I came here to try to find my dad. I hoped maybe he was back home..."

"I'm sure he's okay," said Snow, clapping his hand down on the boys shoulder. Hope nodded with a terse attempt at a smile. "Tell you what - if you need to get to Felix Heights, it's practically the other side. You and Serah head over there and meet us at a rendezvous point - close to the boarding area."

"Me... and Serah?"

"Yeah- I'm trusting you with my girl; so don't do anything funny and don't let her get hurt."

"Why me and Serah?"

"She knows where Felix Heights is, if you're worried about that. And besides, you said most of these guys were newbie's to battle, right? So, I'll take care of them here instead of going with you, but you and Serah can keep each other safe and stick together. If you got in danger along the way and no one was with you, you'd be stuck."

"Right, got it," Hope nodded.

"Mr. Snow..." said a delicate voice behind the bear of a man. Hope bobbed his head out to see who was talking, eyes widening as he found Fiala's stark eyes.

"Yeah kiddo?"

"I would like to travel with Hope, if I may?"

"... Hope?"

"Uh... uh, sure!" he stammered, surprised by the request. "She'll be fine with us," he confirmed.

Snow gave Fiala the thumbs up and told Fiala to find Serah to bring her over. Serah, with her naturally caring and generous streak, was checking over everybody for injuries and illness, even if there was a limit to what she could do.

"Did you get a girlfriend without telling me about it?" muttered Snow, pulling the young boy into a headlock that was heavily resisted.

"She's not my _girlfriend!_" blustered Hope, trying to escape. Snow dragged his knuckles carefully over the expanse of ash blonde hair.

"Seemed like it to me, little hero!"

"Get a grip! You one of these who thinks guys can't have female friends?" Hope sneered playfully.

"I've got Lebreau, so... no. Tell me about your girlfriend."

"We barely know each other-"

"So, you move fast-"

"Snow!" whined Hope, pulling a sour face. "We've just stuck together since she helped me out and pulled me into a hiding spot when I was running from the trooper guys. Who are they, anyway?"

"They're _bad news_. They change their name every other week; first they were the International Defense Force then they were Cocoon Liberation Force. I think they've settled on Pulse Guardian Committee for a few weeks, but they're sure to change. They're the defacto government - bunch of people who decided that we needed order and gave it to the people. But their methods are poor. Their armed forces are the dregs of PSICOM, or otherwise people paid nice money and given guaranteed bonuses on Pulse when they finally settle there. It's dangerous though - who knows what kind of people are lurking amongst them. But they brought clarity and organization to everyone, so naturally they're the little ray of hope for everyone. Frankly, I disagree."

"Frankly, I think you have a fascination for opposing governmental units," answered Hope with a falsely diffident smile, earning a shove from the older man. "No one who was being reasonable would behave the way those guys are. Remember the times when they used to wet themselves at the word 'Pulse'? They're just selfish, can only see the advantage for themselves and no one else."

"You mean - you _didn't _lose bladder control at the mention of Pulse?"

"Hey!" glowered Hope.

* * *

It was awkward, travelling with a girl who looked almost like the spitting image of your departed best friend. And yes, Lightning had been the best friend he'd ever known in his life - he'd believed they held each other up and had an unspoken vow to always protect the other. It'd started when she pulled him into an embrace, right here in Palumpolum. Though he had only uttered "Oh... my" at the time, it had heavily impacted on his mind; the stone cold stoic soldier, wrapping her arms around him in relief and sympathy. He was even willing to say that at that point, he had truly come to love Lightning.

When Hope looked at Serah, he saw the way Light would have been if she didn't try to carry every burden on her own two shoulders. A cheerful, much more evened out personality with the ability to switch seriousness on and off like a light bulb. But if Light hadn't been who she was then there maybe he wouldn't be here anymore, crushed, instead, a long time ago.

"Hope, I don't want to dampen any high spirits, but if your father isn't there - what'll you do?" asked Serah, reasonably.

"There are no high spirits," scoffed Hope, knowing it was her way of trying to take the pinch off what she was about to say. She was incredibly considerate. "I don't know though... I had no idea where he was before I came here, I'm just hoping he's here."

"The Pulse Guardian Committee didn't exactly think of anything to reunite people together. In fact, they're more likely to tear families apart than bring them together with the rash actions they keep taking. No one knows what to do anymore now we have no fal'cie to instruct us for everything..." sighed Serah.

Hope decided that Serah was someone he found very agreeable from the moment she said that. She was selfless and caring and... strongly _maternal_. Always, he had craved that comfortable sense of a strong figure to lean on when he needed, and found Serah appealed to him that way.

"What about your family, Fiala?" asked Serah quietly, turning to the other female in the party. Fiala let out a long sigh.

"Deceased," she replied. "Has been for the longest time, however. I am good at coping alone."

"You should come to New Bodhum when we get to Pulse," offered Serah. "We can set you up with somewhere and you won't have to be alone."

"That sounds nice," whispered Fiala with the faintest of smiles.

* * *

"Dad!" called out Hope, checking every room to the fullest. Fiala was out in the garden, keeping watch but Hope suspected she had quite a green thumb, hence why she was so eager to remain out there. There was a lot of rubble around from the scrap that had taken place the last time Hope was home, but he wasn't sure it mattered to Fiala too much.

Serah met him halfway in the hallway with just room to check. Her eyes cast a sad look, as if to prepare him for what he knew was surely true once they opened the door. He sighed and pushed the door open, looking around carefully, opening all doors and checking under everything but he knew he was kidding himself - his dad would've rushed out as soon as Hope had announced his presence.

"Hope..." said Serah gently, hands cusped together at her waist as she tried to silently convey her sympathies. Hope nodded and sighed.

"He's not here..."

"I'm sorry," she said, approaching him swiftly.

"Don't apologize, it's not your- ... fault," he muttered into her shoulder.

She'd pulled him into such a tight hug, but he felt comfortably smothered by it. He tucked his head under her chin, and clutched onto her for support. But he couldn't hold back the lurch of regret in his heart that reminded him he hadn't reacted like this when Lightning was the one hugging him in the midst of frenzy, that time in Palumpolum.

If he had held her back, would his hold have been tight enough to keep her anchored to the world to this day?

* * *

a/n II: Now, I will say I'm not one to make a big fuss about getting reviews, I care more about knowing at least 1 person is reading this and hopefully enjoying it whilst they do. BUT... as it gets more into the story, I think might need guidance if there's anything that you read and think particularly badly of or think could be better or even stuff you want to see more of, I suppose. Lets not be all negative, after all! ^_^ So yeah, what I will say is that if there's anything reaaaaaaally pressing you, please review and let me know! Dōmo Arigatō!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hollow Dream - Chapter 5**

* * *

Snow's face became a picture of sympathy as Hope explained that their search had been fruitless and his father was nowhere to be found. With a pat on the back, Snow had assured his younger companion they would try to find Bartholomew Estheim at all costs. And Hope realized how well suited Snow and Serah were at that point, because she had assured him the same thing as they headed back.

They were now outside the main designated boarding area in central Palumpolum where a migration ship to Pulse stood in wait for its passengers. Snow and Hope had agreed a plan; Snow would provide the distraction, whilst Hope directed the banished l'cie to the ship to attempt to stow their way aboard. Serah was going to make it onto the ship first to greet the people from the inside.

Serah stepped through the barriers and was inspected by guards, approved and made her way towards the entrance. Before she went in, she turned and stared out, gazing up as though longingly taking in her surroundings once more. Then, with a dramatic flip of her hair, she turned and stalked inside; they cue they were all clear and out of sight.

"Go," whispered Hope, nodding at Snow.

The man affectionately grazed his knuckles over Hope's head before sauntering into the clearing, pulling out a bottle from his pocket. It was filled with water, but what did the guards know? The tactic was cliché but gauranteed to be a distraction if Snow made enough fuss and right now, it was the best they had.

Snow swayed slightly as he approached the barriers and the guards who all passed about a skeptical look to each other.

"Sup?" asked Snow casually, leaning on a crate and knocking it over, falling to the floor. A guard sighed in annoyance and grabbed Snow's upper arm ready to drag him up. "Hey, don't touch me!" snapped Snow, growling. The guard backed away.

As this commotion went ahead, Hope sent the first person to make way to the entrance of the ship. He'd reiterated many times the route to take and asked the most confident person to go first. He held his arm out as the others all watched in anticipation of what would happen.

"Can I see some ID, sir?" asked the guard.

"ID?" questioned Snow, watching as a man shuffled carefully closer to the entrance. "I don't... my..." he patted his pockets down dumbly; but of course he wasn't stupid enough to arrive without ID. "Where'd I put it?" he mumbled repeatedly.

"Sir, hurry. You're holding others up."

"Shuddup! You wannit... or not!?"

"I have the authority to leave you-"

"I'm not no l'cie!" grunted Snow, going into his top pocket. "Oh," he feigned, pulling out a slip of paper and folding it open with falsely fumbling fingers.

"Next," whispered Hope.

"Ah shit," babbled Snow. "S'my taxes; didn' pay 'em when... when ah... Sanctum went..." he pressed his thumb into the guards forehead forcefully and made a splurging noise with his tongue. "No need."

"Your ID, _Sir._"

"Stop prezhurin meee!"

"HALT!" yelled another guard nearby. Snow falsely sobered up as more guards turned to face the figure near the entrance of the ship. "Who authorized you!?" they demanded, aiming their gun at the startled l'cie who had just managed to place their foot down on the walk way up. Instantly, the person panicked and ran away, screaming.

The man who had been dealing with Snow abruptly, taking Snow by surprised, pushed him to the walkway and snarled at Snow to get into the ship and stop bothering him as the guards took a few warning shots at the runaway.

* * *

Hope lost his mind. He ran out without thinking, closely followed by Fiala who attempted to drag him back, warning him against it. Hope ushered towards a shell shocked Snow, swatting his hand to tell the man to leave, not wanting Serah and Snow to jeopardize their journey down to Pulse.

Snow looked lost as he watched guns turn on Hope and Fiala due to their sudden appearance. A guard marched out with two people's collars in his fists and threw them forward.

"Put a bullet in them. These things are l'cie," he ordered coldly.

Hell broke loose. Bullets were being sprayed everywhere, predominantly in Hope and Fiala's direction. Hope yelled out "SAVE YOURSELF" looking at no one but had hoped it reached Snow's ears. His stomach lurched as he saw two dead l'cie on the ground in front of the airship, and ordinary citizens waiting behind barriers were screaming uncontrollably.

"AH!" wailed Fiala, whipping around as a bullet whizzed through the loose material at the back of her wrapped dress.

Hope seized her hand tightly, almost crushing her fingers but it was necessary if he wanted to keep a hold of her. And he ran as fast as he could, pulling Fiala with him to compensate for any speed she lacked. His pace was furious.

"Hope," she called, pulling out of his grasp somehow. She turned as they ran down a street and hauled a table from a café over in their path and sprinted after him, hooking her hand in his again.

"Good thinking," he praised, leaving her to tear obstacles down as they fled.

For a while, they would be chased and hunted until the guards were satisfied they were nowhere near the ship to attempt boarding again. He prayed there were no more casualties beyond the two which he felt personally responsible for.

* * *

Serah carefully massaged Snow's head as he sat with his head sunk low in misery. He arrived to be a liberator, to prove there was nothing wrong with the people who had been turned into l'cie and that it was just some weird meaningless residue from the fall of Orphan - even though he didn't know that for sure. He wanted to be a hero but two people had died, and he believed it was on his watch. Serah wished, wished so hard he wouldn't take the failure so personally.

She was fretful on the inside, merely keeping composure as not to add to Snow's heartache. Hope had run out into the main area, yelling something about saving. Snow had been forced aboard and shoved with the others, looking panicked and desperate. She didn't know if Hope was okay and she'd only just gotten to know him but was smitten already.

Everything looked bleak. But she wished he was safe, and begged to the gods that her wishes be enough to keep him alive.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hollow Dream - Chapter 6**

a/n: Some interesting things emerge in this chapter and the mood is a little shaky. Enjoy!

* * *

**[On Cocoon...]**

Exhaustive weeks had gone by. Hope wanted nothing more than a shower and comfortable bed to sleep the night on but such luxuries seemed so far away. Fiala had stuck by his side; it was smarter than separation and she had looked terrified at the prospect when Hope had asked if she wanted to go her own way. She babbled on about how she didn't know her way around and she was sure to get killed. Hope had to squeeze her shoulder sharply before she got too carried away and hysterical.

They were driven from Palumpolum, but aimed to get back swiftly. For now, they'd set up camp in a small abandoned shop with some food and other stock left behind that the owner obviously didn't feel was necessary to cart down to Pulse. A lot of store owners had taken all of their goods though, wanting home comforts in their change of scenery and to quickly reestablish their market. It left the resources on Cocoon quite threadbare in some places.

Fiala padded out from the back of the shop, a tattered blanket over her shoulders and came and approached the chair Hope was sitting on. He'd started to doze off in his watch of the front door to check for danger. Fiala swooped the blanket over his shoulders and her own and stood with her hands on his back. He blinked groggily and turned his head to the side to look at her.

"You've been pulling more hours than me and it's not fair," she huffed, glowering at him. "Especially not when you're this exhausted. You're no good for defending yourself or me. Not that I need it."

"You threw water at a Behemoth."

"Let it go already!" she blushed, pushing his shoulders lightly and jerking him into wakefulness a bit.

"No. You won't ever live it down," he smirked. Fiala swiped at his head and his hair ended up pushed over dramatically to one side.

"Say, Hope."

"Mhmm?"

"I know we're keeping guard in case anything gets in, but maybe we can both get a good night's sleep after all."

"How? Do you have a plan?"

"Well, I wouldn't mention anything if I didn't have a plan," she smiled, leaning her elbows on his shoulders and perching her chin on his head. "Between us both, we can probably move the shelves here, yeah? If we barred the doors, there's a single window at the back which we can cover up too and I know that keeps us in, but theoretically... does that not keep other things _out_?"

"We're moving in a few days though..."

"I know. So maybe we need to be fresh and healthy for that, right?"

"I suppose, but what if-"

"Yes. Well, I can fit on one of those shelves and frankly you're hardly anything buff, so you should be able to also. We can sleep on those and if anything tries to make its way in; we're right beside the doors to hear it. Even if we were in a super deep sleep, I doubt we could snooze through someone breaking and entering."

Hope was freaked out slightly. He hadn't said anything but he was truly about to ask what if they didn't hear any noise. He blinked the eerie feeling away and thought about her suggestion. They hadn't been under any sort of attack from anything over the past few days - not even once. He didn't want to let his guard down but she had a point in that he wasn't exactly in the fittest state to go for another cross country hike. And the idea of a good night's sleep was incredibly appealing.

* * *

Fiala shuffled into her little makeshift bed on the shelf she'd adopted by the back door and covered herself with the tattered blanket. Sleeping on a metal surface was hardly ideal but if things were working in her favor, she wouldn't be in the mess she was. It was the story of her life.

She yawned and then turned her torch on, shining it over to the opposite side of the store they were in to find Hope in the darkness at the back of the shop. She was surprised to find he seemed to be staring right at her through the black curtain of the night. The corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly into a smile.

"Sleep," she instructed softly.

"You first."

"No, you."

"You."

"I will-"

"-Yeah-"

"-Only sleep if you do."

"Blackmail."

"You haven't said more than two words in one go. You're beyond exhausted; your brain is practically mush. So, I'm going to keep staring at you until you go to sleep. Want me to sing a lullaby?" she grinned wryly.

"No. I'm not a kid."

"Looks that way from where I'm sitting."

"You're laying down. And you're only just 3 months older than me, genius."

"I AM a genius, well observed."

"I'm going to sleep just to stop listening to you," he scoffed, turning purposely on his other side to face away from her.

Fiala mentally counted 5 seconds off in her head and watched with satisfaction as he turned back around to face her again, looking defeated and sour about his poor will power. But Fiala didn't speak, or tease as she wanted to. She lowered her eyelids gently and kept a graceful smile on her lips, watching as he lulled off into heavy, deep rest. It was a relief he was finally getting rest. She feared some sense of chivalry had forced him to keep himself awake and not allow her to be the one on lookout. And tonight, she would keep watch over him instead.

* * *

"Hope. Hoooope!" chanted Fiala, shaking his shoulders lightly.

"Eh, wha-!? Yes!?" he gasped, blinking rapidly and trying to stand but only meeting the heavy metal of the shelf above him. Fiala visibly cringed, fingers curling into fists, but a smile graced her lips as she listened to colorful vocabulary unbecoming of a boy fly out of his mouth.

"Hope," she giggled, shaking her head and curving her arms round his shoulders and extracting him from his makeshift bed. He sunk into her torso, resting his chin on her shoulder and pouting like a kid who'd been told no was no. "Not much of a morning person?"

"S-sure I am!" he grumbled, instantly falsifying his claims to the otherwise.

"Well, according to your watch it's nearly mid-day. We're running a bit late" she said, kneeling down. He remained slumped against her for a little while, allowing the information to slowly process.

"M-Mid-day!?"

"Which way are we heading, then?" asked Fiala, clutching her arm nervously. Hope had a look in his eye that she didn't particularly like. It'd been there for a few hours now.

"Eden, silly," he chuckled. "We don't have another capital city!"

"Oh yeah... silly me," she laughed awkwardly. Hope narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You didn't know that?"

"... I'm no good with directions?" she offered.

"..."

"Hope?"

"... That doesn't make sense."

"Why not?"

"Who doesn't know that the capital is Eden?"

Fiala coughed awkwardly and shook her head before raising a question.

"Isn't Eden a floating city? How do we get up?"

"We're not actually going up Eden. Just nearby."

"Oh."

"Where are you from?"

"Heh, where am I from..?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing it must be some backwater place considering you don't know our own capital."

"That's rude!"

"But true, right?"

"Suppose. Um. Y-... Yaschas? E-Ever heard of it."

Hope turned his head to look at her and smirked slightly, nodding his head. Fiala's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've heard of it," he replied.

She shivered slightly. The boy was in a funny mood. After he'd had his groggy moment that morning and realized he was leaning on her, he'd stood abruptly and ignored her until they were leaving, answering her questions vaguely or outright ignoring them. And now, she was feeling attacked by his questioning.

"Why are..?" she mumbled, looking at his tightened fists.

"It's a place; on Pulse."

Instinct warned her to back away quickly and moments later, she realized this had been a blessing. Hope hurled his boomerang forward towards her without warning. He pulled it back to him and clenched his hand so tightly around it, she thought it was going to snap.

"Who are you!?" he yelled.

"St-Stop!" she yelled, scuttling back.

"You're some kinda fal'cie or something!?"

"NO! AAH!" she screamed as lightning crackled somewhere close. She curled her fists up to her head and hunched over protectively. "PLEASE I'M SCARED!"

"That wasn't me-" he went to explain as the clouds grumbled at the release of tension. He watched as Fiala let out a bellowing scream and collapsed to her knees, twisting into a human ball that quivered.

It was then that he saw her reasoning for her unusual answers. Crested between her shoulder blades, at the base of her neck, a familiar emblem. Her hair had fallen aside to allow him to see the Pulse l'cie brand.

"Why is there a Pulse l'cie on Cocoon?" he asked, not specifically addressing her. He stepped over, about to touch her shoulder to get her attention but she must've felt his presence first. Her arms wrapped around his legs without warning as the skies moaned and sparked.

"H-Hope, I'm so-sorry. P-please just get m-me away from h-here!" she begged, practically cutting the circulation off.

He looked down at her carefully, eyelids lowering gently. _Maybe I was unreasonable... It's better to keep an eye on her to just leave her though, just in case..._

He hoisted her up by her shoulders first, despite the way she attempted to protest. When he finally had her stood up, with a bit of coaxing, he used the strength he never used to have to pick her up and quickly dash somewhere cloaked.

* * *

They'd found an abandoned home in a small village nearby. By the time they'd reached it, the rain had started prattling at the ground. Both were damp and moody and tired, most of all. With a fire started, Hope sat on a chair behind Fiala as she leaned over an arm chair with her hair pushed over her shoulder in front of her, back mostly exposed and that _brand _clear as day. Her arms were folded across the seat of the arm chair and her head leaned to the side slightly as she rested down.

Hope had been embarrassed this morning; the way he'd leaned on Fiala as though she were a crutch to keep him stood. He found himself bothered by the neediness of his actions and tried to keep some distance. He hadn't wanted to be nasty, but it was the only retaliation he could think of to try and ignore the lurch in his stomach, the beat his heart missed out. The boy in the playground, tugging the girls hair because he had no other way to express 'I _like _you' other than mean taunting play.

He stumbled on something he truly didn't like and overreacted vehemently. And now, regret crumbled away his misgivings as he stared at the girl who had placed herself before him so vulnerably.

"I think I was dumped in the trash heap," she muttered, sighing out. "Along with the rest of the crap from Pulse that these people hated. I was bait, I played my part and did my focus. I enabled my people access to Cocoon during the War of Transgression. I didn't really understand what I was doing; I just knew that... me and some other people from my town were supposed to aid some people to do something to Cocoon. But I awoke a few years ago; I put the pieces together from what I discovered lurking around amongst the machines and monsters, sometimes I dared to find civilization and learn what I could there, but I never stayed around long. I came back here, my new home. The place where I was forsaken. I... I even found one of my friends here; but he was all smashed up. I tried to put the pieces back together but I never found some of them... I don't know where the others are; there were 4 of us. None of us older than 12. H-How was I supposed to know I was... I was doing something so wrong!? And what am I supposed to do now!? I'm a- a threat... everyone should kill me on sight-!"

"People don't need to know."

"But, you were going to-"

"I wouldn't KILL you. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I reacted that way. I freaked out."

"I understand."

"I had some friends from Pulse... they're... they're keeping Cocoon afloat."

"Th-they are?! But why? We were told that-"

"I know. You were told Cocoon's destruction was necessary. Why would they keep the planet upheld? Well, they regretted what they'd done. They redeemed by sacrifice and saving us all..."

"I wish I had such a chance."

Hope sighed and rested his chin in his palm, looking down at her back. Without really thinking, he reached out and brushed his fingers along the back of her neck where the brand sat.

"Maybe you will," he murmured.

"... What are you going to do with me, if you're not going to kill me?"

"I'll look after you."

"..."

Fiala gazed ahead, trying to comprehend his words. She searched for a hidden meaning but none made themselves apparent. She was waiting for something; for his fingers to stop caressing and seize her neck or for him to kick her or do anything. But nothing came. After long minutes, she relented her paranoid thoughts.

"... Then, I'll look after you too. Thank you, Hope."

He gave no answer. There was still much he didn't understand.

* * *

_a/n: How about that then? _


	7. Chapter 7

_a/n:_

_;_; I'm terrible. I'm so terrible. But, I'm back on track now. This is actually thanks to my most recent follower **neverending000**- after all, when I saw an e-mail alert in there I was like 'Oh yeah, I'm midway through writing a thing... I am negligent, horrible person' and I hoped right back to it!_

_Well, this is a dinky little chapter I'm afraid but it's setting up for what I've listed in my notes as "part 2" - it has to bridge a gap and it's better than nothing, yeah, right? ehehee... [nervously laughter slowly and awkwardly trails off] ... yeah. So... thanks. [Runs] _

* * *

[On Pulse, New Bodhum...]

Snow watched the construction of temporary accommodation listlessly. Their replica town was making good steady progress, he should have been in his element. But he couldn't shake his thoughts away from drama that unfolded up on Cocoon. He'd lost sleep over it, even. It shouldn't have startled him when Maqui flew into the chair beside him. He hoped no one noticed.

"I'm bushed!" said Maqui, tilting his head to get rid of the stiffness in his neck. "Can't wait 'til things are back to normal... er, normal-_er_. I mean, as normal as they get. Down here, y'know? Right Boss?" he didn't bother waiting for an answer. "We just sat for HOURS in the same spot, making sure nothin' nasty got the jump on us - and y'know what? Nothing DID! Which is good, I guess, because it means security are doing their job but **I**wanna have fun too? Why do the-"

"He's not listening," remarked Gadot, silencing the youngest member of NORA.

"Huh?" asked Maqui, sitting up and gazing into Snow's face.

"Snap out of it, big guy!" boomed Gadot, clapping in Snow's face thunderously. Snow blinked and turned to look at his brotherly friend.

"Sorry, what?"

"You're out of it!" awed Maqui. "Hey, can I get Boss spot since you're not up to the job?"

"Get out of here!" sneered Gadot, pushing Maqui by the head off his sitting place and taking it for himself instead. "I'm second in command, kid. But seriously..." he softened his voice up, punching Snow's arm. "You've not been right since you got back."

"I just feel like I've broken every promise I made to him, to myself, to his family... I'll never forget his mother's face, saying to get him home... she knew she was at the end. And e-even though... even though she meant it literally, I told myself... his home was with us guys. So he should be _here_. I've thrown him to the lions."

Maqui sat up and rubbed his head, gazing at his superior. He shook his head, on the cusp of a rare display of wisdom and innovation.

"From the sounds of it, you were badly compromised, Snow. Don't you have faith in him to survive alone? He doesn't sound like a push over. In fact, he kinda sounds like you..."

"Hah!" Snow scoffed. "He sure isn't no push over. ... He should be okay alone. But not safe. Not happy."

"Why... don't we make this our new mission... as Operation NORA?"

"Got something up your sleeve we don't know about?" grumbled Gadot, folding his arms and sitting back.

"... Well, actually..."


	8. Chapter 8

_a/n: *bows* ta-da. Chapter 8, and I'm glad I've got to what I class as 'part 2' of this story by this point. I was worried it'd end up being 15 chapters in before I got there because, though I've never posted any fics on here... I write them and I do have a tendency to overdo things. _

_I'm trying to sort of loosely keep things chronological with FFXIII-2 but I doubt it'll work out *perfectly* and I'll be tweaking things here and there. _

_Anywaaaay... onwards! _

* * *

**_2 Years Later... _**

[On Pulse...]

_"Citizens of New Eden are eagerly awaiting today's speech from the most fresh and forthcoming political campaign, Project Nora. The initiative is lead by former Pulse l'cie, Snow Villiers and his fiancée Serah Farron who were caught up in the Fal'cie Crisis 2 years ago. His speech will be delivered at approximately 1 'o' clock, worldwide. Project Nora have gained a steady backing since their emergence two years ago, soaring ahead of other public campaigns who formed at the same time. As the world battles out it's opinions over-" _

Snow scowled and turned off the TV. He didn't need to be taught like an infant about the worlds moral inclinations. He was living in it; it was outside his window.

"You ready, big guy?" asked Gadot, tightening a fist and flexing his muscles.

"I've been ready for a long time, waiting was the game," smirked Snow, taking some brief glances over his notes. He didn't bother writing his whole speech out, it had to come from the heart. But he wanted to get some key points in and in the heat of the moment, he needed something to ground him down or he knew he'd send up spouting some typical lines of heroism. Being a hero didn't always equate to being a leader.

"Were the suits necessary?" asked Labreau, pulling the cuff of her smart blazer. She couldn't recall a time in her life, until now, where she'd worn a _blouse_. And her skirt was way too long, it almost reached her _knees_!

"Hear hear!" replied Maqui, lazily sprawled across a chair the wrong way.

"It was this or stuffy robes," smirked Snow.

All of the original NORA groaned at the thought.

"Are you gonna tell them about our little side project?" asked Yuj, who was perched on the back of the chair Maqui was lounging in. Snow shook his head.

"No. Not about our private plans. Not until after we've got up to Cocoon and come back alive to be able to say 'look, we didn't die'. But I would like to address the idea that we need Cocoon."

"You kind of need proof that not everyone up there is a blood thirsty monster who wants to wage war. I mean, we left a lot of our technology and arms behind - if those l'cie were really gonna attack, I'm sure someone would've had the sense to do it by now," offered Maqui. Labreau ruffled his hair suddenly.

"Always smart at the strangest times," she smirked, causing the younger male to blush.

"Wh-ah... you...?"

"You're right..." mumbled Snow, looking lost in thought. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribbled the point down onto the bottom of one page. He'd work the point in the best he could. "Why can't you come up with this wisdom sooner?"

* * *

[On Cocoon...]

"You're lost."

"No I'm not."

"You are."

"No, you are."

"I was following you."

"So if I'm lost, you are-"

"What? Whatever, just admit you're lost!"

Fiala blinked and stared Hope down. He wanted to cower away so badly from such a glare, she looked disappointed, wounded and furious at once. But he was right, and she was wrong. He flinched as she clicked a finger in his face and pointed to the left of him.

"Kindly move that way, Mr. Estheim," she glowered.

"Oh great, deeper into the abyss!" he snarked, stomping off rather childishly in the instructed direction. She snickered.

"You're kinda whipped."

"What?" he asked, genuinely not hearing. The wind had carried her words away.

"Nothing."

Hope grumbled unintelligibly but did as he was told nonetheless. And after clomping about like a toddler for 5 minutes, he came to a stop, his cheeks tinting to a soft rose color. There were fields and fields full of vegetation in front of him.

"Ohh, what is that? Is the almighty Hope brought to a standstill by my cunning sense of direction!?" she taunted.

"It was a fluke."

"No it wasn't."

Actually, it was. But she couldn't give him the satisfaction. She'd had the vaguest of ideas and followed her nose. And it had, in a roundabout way, brought them here but they could've also hit it 2 miles further back since the field was so expansive. She knew Hope wouldn't realize this though, and was safe with her lie.

She approached and pressed a hand to his shoulder, holding out a small container to him filled with elastic bands and a bag of seeds. He took it and smiled wryly.

"It doesn't matter if it was a fluke or not. We're here for the plants. Remember, 5 to a bunch, use all the bands, and drop a couple of seeds wherever you pick from. It's all well and good-"

"-Taking but what about giving," he finished off. He'd heard that so many times over the years that he might well have dreamt about it.

"Good boy," she beamed, making him roll his eyes.

He pulled some gloves on and carefully waded through the foliage, looking to find a patch where the plants were a bit taller than all of the rest. The plants they were looking for were best cultivated in less light than their grassy cousins that were overshadowing them right now. It was a fern-like leaf, born on a rigid, petal-less flower. Fiala had simply called it Cura because 'I'm unimaginative' she explained. It was more potent and more natural than the engineered plants found in Gapra. But they kept plenty of those in stock for minor injuries and had a small greenhouse growing them so they didn't always have to go to Gapra. Those were called Norah, Fiala had asked his mother's name and misspelled it but he didn't mind. It was a sweet gesture.

He found a healthy patch of Cura and knelt down to begin unearthing it. From this, a powerful antidote could be derived. So powerful, it somehow kept Cie'th at bay. And when injected into the system of a L'cie - granted them more precious time. It couldn't halt the process all together but until they found out a way of ridding themselves of their brands, it was, by all accounts, a cure. So far, no one had become a cie'th.

Hope was surprised at how many properties the plant and wildlife of Cocoon held. If they had needed medicine or healing, a fal'cie had always done it for them. Cradled them into better health and they never needed to question it. Nature had run rampant and done its own thing, developed its own way, with some surprising effects.

There was a fruit that acted as good as any hospital anesthetic, a flower that was as good as any coffee. Rocks that could cleanse wounds and smooth off damaged skin. And then combinations of many things which had better effects. A paste which worked better than any shop bought adhesive. A yarn stronger than any common wool. And these ripe discoveries of nature lead to inventions and concoctions that had once seemed so unimaginable.

For all she lacked in her magical knowledge, her awareness of beasts and monsters, Fiala was a genius in the realm of discovery. And she kept on learning and discovering and working. Hope was almost envious he wasn't such a natural academic but he was getting his own knowledge too.

When it dawned on the forsaken world that the rest of society wanted nothing to do with them, the abandoned l'cie had fast come together, needing to pool, scrimp and save their resources. Fiala and Hope had taken advantage of this and appealed to the smartest of minds to join them to try make their world a better place.

They weren't exactly thriving, by any means. But they weren't dying. They were surviving.

Some of their boffins had already long discovered certain things and added to their pool of knowledge. Resources and information began to pile up and come together in fantastic ways. The world was on edge but they kept it from falling with small shards of hope. And they now had a very successful system that was beginning to really take off the ground.

Palumpolum was the most inhibited place on the planet. Because Hope and Fiala had set up here, and their smart mass had followed, the word had spread and hopeful, abandoned l'cie had ambled in, praying for luck. And where they could, they liked to grant it.

An unforeseen issue was that no matter what the crisis, some people still went at it like rabbits. As much as they had urged people to be careful when being intimate, to avoid pregnancy if possible due to the potential future problems, there were some new births and their population was occasionally increasing. So far, it seemed there wasn't a magic herb or plant to act as a contraceptive.

"Oi, slow poke," whispered Fiala, nudging Hope's backside with the side of her foot. He nearly lost his balance. "I won."

"We weren't racing!"

"That's what you think."

And then there was Hope and Fiala themselves. They were the best of friends and the worst of enemies. They lived under the same roof in his childhood home and constantly bickered and constantly rekindled. She was boisterous, sarcastic, overly competitive and smug. And to his annoyance, she was tender, thoughtful, deep and witty. He knew, he'd known within the first year, that he couldn't go on and live the rest of his life without her in it.

"Fine," he smiled, relenting. She was his true weakness. "You win."


	9. Chapter 9

a/n: I'm useless, aren't I? I promise I'll get better at uploading and in fact - to cure this, I'm going to start on another story but I have a few in mind so I don't know which one to go for yet. It'll happen when it happens but with multiple things to focus on, I'll actually work better.

* * *

**Hollow Dream, Chapter 9**

Hope never believed he'd become a dab-hand at cooking. He was content to remain a momma's boy his whole life instead, eating the most perfect homemade meals. Of course, he also didn't believe his mom would pass away before he was ready for it to happen, or that he'd be turned into a l'cie, _twice_, and thrown through a bunch of disasters the way he had been.

But he couldn't _stand _Fiala's cooking. She put her heart and soul into it and labored over the most simplistic dishes. The downside was that... well, there was no nice way to put it...

... It really DID taste like innards and perspiration.

He'd blanched at the first mouthful of the first meal; tried to swallow it down to be polite because he was good-natured but it hit his stomach and launched right back out into his bowl. Tomato soup. SOUP. That stuff comes in a can - what did she _DO_ to it to make it so abhorrent?

He made friends with the bathroom that night and offered many contributions to Porcelain City. Fiala awkwardly hung in the background with a glass of water and agreed, without argument, to let him take over kitchen duties. She even found him an apron, the kind with frills, the next day.

He'd turned it into a subtle art over the years; Fiala's vocalizations were his grading. A earnest 'hmm' was an 'Okay' dish (2 out of 5 Stars). A lively 'ooh' was a 'Good' dish (4 Out of 5 Stars). She made **embarrassing **sounds at his 'Masterpieces' (6 out of 5 Stars) that made his face flush and the room close in on itself.

There was a well used cookbook in the kitchen cupboard that'd once belonged to his mother and he'd built himself from the ground up with it. He started to know what colors things should be when they were done cooking, what he could replace in a meal if he didn't have the ingredients, what made it _better_. He even mastered measuring without the use of cups or jugs.

Fiala was making those _crude _sounds again, and it wasn't the bit of spice in the dish that had him red to his ears.

"Poor baby," she crooned, catching him off guard. Dinner was usually a quiet affair. "Why did you make a hot dish if you can't handle hot food? You're burning up. Get some milk!"

_If only you knew. _But he complied because it would do no good to let her in on what the real issue was - he wouldn't be PAID to reveal that one. And surprisingly it helped anyway. It took the edge off. He downed one glass instantly and was pouring another when someone opened the door and casually invited themselves in. He rolled his eyes - more than used to this. Taking on responsibility for everyone had its pitfalls.

"We're under attack, Mr. Estheim!"

The way he spit his milk out onto his lap would've been amusing.

If only the scenario were funny to match.

* * *

They waited patiently for 30 minutes when finally the back hatch, likely a loading bay, of the vehicle was lowered. First, some carcasses were dumped out - soggy because they were still bleeding. And before the small forces had any time to realize what was happening, the hatch was dropped all the way and a hoard of beasts scampered out to take the flesh and meat of their free meal.

The attention had first turned onto them; living, breathing... fresh. They were forced to retreat immediately. One man wasn't fast enough and was torn to shreds, but no one was around long enough to see the worst of it.

They'd made it back two hours ago, after hiding and sneaking their way back as much as possible, attempting to outrun their predators. They were cold, bloody, tired and traumatized. The man they lost - his brother was another trooper among the bunch.

Fiala marched into the tent that was used as a quick clinic, throwing the door cover back dramatically and striding over to this grieving man. He had some cuts and scrapes, he'd dislocated his ankle and without warning she'd popped it back in and he barely even flinched. But the most important question she'd asked was to see his brand.

He complied without thinking too much about it, kicking his other boot off and holding his foot up for her to see the crest on his ankle. It was vivid. It reminded her of a cobra's torso in a way - how they'd rise up sharply, poised so elegantly to sink their teeth in and kill ruthlessly.

"Dr. Even," she called out to the back, rolling the man's trouser leg down. She patted his wrist and told him she was giving him something so that he'd sleep - it'd catalyze his recovery. He dropped off instantly.

A man with choppy blonde hair and glasses drooping off his nose lazily sauntered in and gave her a meaningful stare. She talked technical jargon with him over the man's condition. He was in his 30's - well skilled in the medical field and significantly more experienced - but he tolerated Fiala as being in charge of him. They all agreed she was the Boss around here and Mr. Estheim would chew them out for disrespect.

"Even" she said slowly, loitering in the exit for a moment as she went to leave. She looked over her shoulder, red hair draping down slowly over her back. She was exhausted, somehow. "Be merciful on him."

Even nodded shortly and watched her back out of the tent. Her heart sank like a stone to the pit of her stomach when the cool breeze blasted her face, harsher than it truly was. Her fingers coiled into her palms in a tight fist, nails grooving her skin.

She hated herself.

_She _was the merciless cobra, nose-diving on clueless prey; nobody else.

* * *

"Hope," she murmured out softly when she found him, hobbling away as a blaze exterminated one of the off-loaded beasts.

It'd taken them an hour to locate all the nearby monsters and exterminate them but for now, the immediate parameter was secured. As many hands as they could spare were deployed to stabilize and maintain their safety.

Fiala reached inside the flak jacket she'd thrown over her lab coat when she'd set out into the field and pulled out a small tub, taking Hope's hand and dragging him to log to perch on.

He watched, his heart thrumming painfully, as she robotically smoothed a lotion into his skin without a single taunt passed to him about how he was slow and stupid if he got hurt. She didn't even look at him as he hissed when the gash on his leg burned as it healed at an accelerated rate. _Wuss. The man is supposed to defend the woman, not shriek like a banshee over a paper cut. _

"These monsters... aren't native to Cocoon," he informed. It was the only thing that came to mind that wasn't pestering her for her well being. She wouldn't answer if he asked.

"What?" she asked, eyes sparking into alert at this. It ebbed away the sadness. "If they're not native to Cocoon..."

"The ship was from Pulse. The _beasts _were from _Pulse. _They're clearing out for the human population and we're the dumping ground."

"Bastards!" snapped Fiala, hammering her fist into the log forcefully enough to produce a 'snap!' as it gave way. Hope had never seen her lose her cool like that.

He nodded calmly however and pulled her hand up, carefully picking out the debris from her outburst. The crescent shaped crusting scabs in her palm didn't go unnoticed. _Distinctly nail shaped, I believe... _he thought privately.

"Hope, if any took off into the wild before you exterminated them..."

"I know. They might procreate and produce stronger offspring," he grumbled, having already taken this into account. "I know this is ridiculous - but don't think about it right now. We need to clear our heads before we decide what to do next."

"You're right," she agreed, lapsing back into misery. "... The harmony was fun while it lasted though, wasn't it?"

"We'll take it back."

"Oh. You promise, huh?" she sneered. He ignored her bad mood.

"Promise," he responded to her rhetorical jibe. She had the humility to look embarrassed.

All he could do was smile down wearily at her and tug a lock of her hair that was pouring over her shoulder. She submitted to a moment of weakness, resting her head in his lap and allowing him to treat her scalp to a long overdue massage.

Recklessly out in the wilds, she fell into bland, emotionless sleep.

* * *

a/n II: The document editor is having a loopy episode! D:


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: Long Chapter incoming!

I'm doing better at uploading! See? With the way this is going, I really think I'll end up doing a sequel - it just seems fitting. Still don't know what other story to start publishing but I fully intend to. It'll get me more focused on writing. OH and another thing. Dr. Even who is continuously going to crop up in the story is literally just a bit of a borrowed personality from Kingdom Hearts - Vexen - because his original name is ... well, you know? Even? And I was actually driving myself up the wall with a name before I just thought 'hey, duh - Square Enix already has some quaint scientist types to borrow from' and since I HATE... I HATE Professor Hojo (the only other predominant science-psycho I could think of) and if anyone _LIKES_ that guy then seriously - I'm buying you a shrink - a whole shrink... but I mean, anyway... Vexen was the better option. I can't believe I just had a rant about that.

* * *

As dire as the circumstances on Cocoon, the provisional government did their best to listen to the requests of the people and give them what they wanted. Over the past few weeks their attention had been focused on weapons development. They now had a small artillery collection and foot soldiers had better ranged weapons where their magic was unavailable. Compact medical kits were designed and distributed to anyone who would take them.

_Hope's magically psychic boomerang hadn't caught on very well. But nor had Fiala's water bottle trick. (Hope would never let her live it down.)_

It left Hope _fuming _when he heard the most recent demand from the civilians. These complete (_calm, Hope_)... _barstools _wanted booze. Alcohol. They said if salves were possible, alcohol was too. He could only imagine when this got to Fiala. He hoped she'd refuse. He wasn't prepared to help govern a populace of drunkards; they made enough inane errors as it was. Alcohol would mean a baby boom - and casualties - and fights.

The figurehead of their government was an older gentleman called Rais. He had a good public demeanor and was skilled at comforting people. He was a little odd at times and couldn't keep the focus on a topic for more than two minutes but he was there for diplomacy rather than any genuine authority. It was agreed amongst Hope, Fiala and their most trusted associates that two teenagers (no matter how experienced) and a bunch brainiacs with poor social skills weren't exactly going to be the most reassuring leaders. Rais stepped into this role nicely whilst a body of, roughly, 12 main people truly did all the work.

But he had a habit of making outlandish promises for the sake of keeping everyone content and it was hard to reject his ideas without upsetting many. With the initial shock at the mass l'cie fest the Cocoon fal'cie had implanted now thoroughly dulled - people forgot the times were hard and became demanding and had no concept of how lucky they were just to be _alive._

To Rais, agreeing to this new demand would simply be a method of appeasement. To Hope, this was a new disaster. He was going to have to spread the word to the others as soon as possible so they could collectively boycott the idea with as much conviction as they had.

He headed off to check on the development of their firearms and as a means to go cool down but he was halted before he could get there by a cool tone calling his name.

"Mr. Estheim."

"... Dr. Even," said Hope cautiously, stepping into the tent. Even unnerved him a little. He was sure that the guy would've had his medical license revoked under ordinary circumstances because his morals seemed to be a bit lacking.

"Annoyed with Sir Rais' latest update?" he smirked. Hope scowled.

"These people are so ungrateful-"

"There is a solution, however. We tell them that yeast is a necessary ingredient in the inhibiting solution for their l'cie brands and they must choose between their lives or their sobriety."

"I'd rather not feed anyone a lie."

"It is not a lie. I've been at work with Fiala's original compound since the efficacy of Nullvae is diminishing. Yeast is very useful - it boosts the effects and requires less Nullvae. It's preliminary work, but it is also promising. I'll be running it by Fiala once I've refined it."

"Th-that's... that's great," said Hope, at a loss. He had no idea why yeast was useful.

In fact, about all he knew is what Nullvae was. It was a stroke of luck - a miracle - a blessing. Fiala had her nose to the grindstone during its development but her exhaustive work paid off when she finally concocted a compound that abated the effects people were enduring having turned l'cie. There was not one single brand on the planet that was developed past half-way thanks to it.

"Indeed. It might even reduce the chances of a brand exploding into full development due to trauma such as the one our casualty suffered the other week," droned Even casually.

"Huh..?"

Even pinned his sharp eyes onto Hope's features, taking in the confused reaction. Hope watched amusement fill the older man's eyes slightly and it sent a shiver down his spine which he hoped wasn't visible.

"Please tell Miss Fiala that we'll only remain stuck in one place if we fail to shed our burdens. I'm sure she'll understand, Mr. Estheim."

* * *

He used to fumble, and be awkward, and edge around issues. He hadn't gone to check on the firearms development after all, he'd headed home instead. He expected to find Fiala doing some heavy reading and wasn't disappointed. She was curled up on the counter top, of all places, with their pet cat dozing on her feet. She didn't even notice him approach her she was so absorbed in her book.

"Fiala, I saw Even today-"

"Shit, Hope!" she snapped, lurching slightly and sending their cat skittering off to somewhere else in the house. Hope expected to be bitten later for disturbing the lazy slob's nap-time. She closed her book and glared at him.

"I saw Even today," he repeated. "He said something about yeast being useful for Nullvae."

She gawked at him slightly before hoping off the counter, using his shoulders to balance herself. She fetched her discarded boots and was tugging one on when Hope seized her wrists.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to _pry_! I want to know what-"

"He said he'd get in touch when it was more refined. Just stop... don't go," he urged.

"Don't you see?" she asked him, muted giddiness in her eyes. "This could be amazing, Hope!"

"Fiala, I want you to stay here," he demanded.

"Why?"

"Because... I'll make crepes... but only if you stay..."

Fiala would give somebody the clothes from her back in exchange for crepes. Hope made more than was necessary in an effort to keep her grounded at home. It was all he could do besides locking the door and taking her key. He perched one plate in his palm, one on his forearm and carried a variety of toppings with him through into the lounge where Fiala was sat plaiting her hair. Hope took it as a good sign that she'd decided to bathe and get into her pajama's.

Hope dropped the sauces and toppings onto the coffee table gracelessly and handed her the plate off his arm. She took it with a sweet smile and immediately snatched up the chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Hope rolled his eyes, sitting at the opposite end of the sofa with her, stretching out his legs across the seats either side of her legs which were also sprawled out in his direction.

There was a few minutes of silence whilst Fiala necked her first crepe. Hope was more demure and scooped up polite mouthfuls.

"We're too busy," he said, looking glum.

"Such is life."

"No, I want to be selfish. I want to lie in tomorrow and I want to stay up late tonight. and I want to _talk_. Because for some reason, we don't do that lately."

He sounded like a desperate boyfriend. He mentally cringed at how clingy he sounded but it was quickly erased when he saw Fiala's brows crease and her lips twist into an expression of sadness.

"I know... Things are rapid and... sometimes, I'd like to just run away. I'd like to just set off with a carafe and rations, maybe take a blanket and some salves and just GO. With you. But I don't shirk my duties."

"... I don't think anyone would notice if we slowed down... just a little."

"_I _would notice."

"But if you _forgive _yourself for it..."

"I suppose we did buy some time already," she said wistfully.

They both sighed in relief. The conversation they just had was intriguingly tense. It'd been a budding shouting match. They could somehow successfully argue even when they agreed with each other. Luckily, they just never meant anything by it.

Fiala put her plate on the table and Hope thought she was ill for a moment until she crawled over the couch and sat between his legs, resting her back against his torso. She picked the plate back up and began eating whilst her head lazily rolled over onto his shoulder. He put his arms either side of her and sat his plate in her lap since his own was... occupied.

"I thought I wasn't affected by it," she mumbled. "I thought I was coping."

"... But you aren't?"

"I killed a man!" she blurted out.

An uncomfortable silence settled like dust on their shoulders. Hope's hand was raised to fetch another crepe but he dropped it to his side whilst Fiala stared up listlessly at the ceiling.

"K-killed?"

"... His time was up. I thought I was doing the right thing. And now I'm not really that sure..."

"Time was up..? Do you mean... wait, did his brand form fully?" asked Hope slowly, recalling Dr. Even's unusual words to him earlier that had taken him by surprise.

"... That was no excuse for me to just... to play god and permit the end of his life. Oh god... oh gods!" trembled Fiala. letting out a belting sob. "I killed - I took life! It's a disgrace! It's a disgrace to everything I am! I'm meant to heal - to develop. To SAVE. As a _woman _- I should carry and create life, not flick it out-"

"Fiala!" snapped Hope, shoving his plate aside and taking Fiala's away from her. He clasped his arms around her shoulders as she shuddered convulsively with belated tears. He couldn't stand to see or hear her cry. "Fiala if it had gotten that way, then the only end was _ever_ going to be death! Everyone knows there's no return from being a cie'th! You saved his dignity as a human being instead of letting him fall to shambles as a woe stricken cie'th!"

"But what if he wasn't going to turn into a cie'th, Hope?! What if I killed him for no reason!?"

"... Would you have wanted to wait long enough to find out if that was the case or not? Would you have wanted to wait long enough for there to be nothing of his humanity to salvage?" he pleaded desperately, but in such a quiet, eerie tone. "... I... I think you did the right thing. And you're braver than I am..."

"Braver?" questioned Fiala in a hoarse voice.

"I'd have run away from my problems by now. You should've told me sooner... maybe you could cut me a deal?"

"D-deal?"

"... I tell you all of my burdens. You... you tell me yours. We share and divide our troubles. Maybe then, we can ebb them away from each other until they're just... they're just there with no real consequence... Even Dr. Even said... he told me to tell you that if you fail to shed your burdens, you'll only end up stuck in one place."

"Wh-what does that psycho know?" spluttered Fiala through her tears, laughing half-heartedly.

"Fiala... is it a deal?"

"... Deal. M-maybe you'll look p-p-pretty without a frown on y-your face," she taunted.

Hope laughed against his will, holding her tighter as if tethering her to world still. The crepes sat, forgotten, to their sides as they poured out all the things that were shredding them up and corroding them slowly, releasing the tension that had lead to them merely existing together instead of enjoying each other's company in the first place.

Briefly, in the mixture of all the messy thoughts, Hope resented that the only time he even managed to get Fiala in his arms is when she was on the brink of despair. One day, he would change the purpose, the meaning, of his arms being around her.

Just not today.

* * *

a/n II:

Null - to cancel out  
Vae - Woe [Latin]


	11. Chapter 11

a/n: My plan with writing another fic whilst doing this one WORKED and see - I'm doing go on the uploads. Proud?

* * *

**Hollow Dream, Chapter 11 **

Lebreau tapped her foot rhythmically but impatiently as she waited for Snow to finish talking to some hotshot diplomats. She felt like every moment waiting in silence was a moment closer to doom. She'd found out something horrible.

It was too long before the door finally opened and Snow walked out in a crisp suit, looking unconcerned. He'd obviously had a positive time in his meeting but Lebreau had to break it up now. She stood quickly and got his attention. He turned and flashed her a winning grin.

"Hey, Lebreau! What brings-"

"The Reformed PSICOM are dumping monsters on Cocoon."

"... Say what?"

"Their 'clearance' operations to make more of Pulse habitable involve luring monsters into traps so they don't have to engage in battle and then they're flying them off and dumping them onto Cocoon. They've been doing this for 4 months now! Roughly when the reconstruction of New Palumpolum began. Palumpolum was a commercial haven; it set a lot of trends and housed a lot of wealth. A size that big, to build up a place like that, didn't just come out of nowhere and now we know why."

"This could... affect our mission."

"That's why I'm telling you. And it's why me and Yuj have decided to come along after all instead of holding fort here. Serah will cover our asses, at least," she grinned weakly. "I don't wanna get up there without you guys. One goes - we all do," she said, curling her hand into a fist and holding it out to Snow. He bumped his own fist against hers and nodded.

"Right. 'Cos we're NORA."

"I heard you and Serah had an argument because you refused to let her come, _again_."

"She's had it rough these past few years. I'm keeping her safe from harm at all costs."

* * *

16 Days later, Maqui was navigating his 'baby' up towards Cocoon. The rest of NORA were sat with firearms at their side, a mixture of excitement and anxiety pulsing through their blood. It'd taken a long time. Maqui was only one closet-genius and they didn't have a big pot of money stored away for emergency airship building to have catalyzed this project further. And it wasn't just the airship. They needed the guns and the video cameras.

They were going to prove Cocoon was safe. That the people were safe. That humanity still existed in the l'cie stranded up there. Fang, Vanille and Lightning didn't sacrifice their lives to save a abandoned world.

With resources on Pulse being so precious, the time it had taken to put this plan into effect had been even longer. They were having to slyly pilfer what they could whenever the opportunity arose, whilst still trying to keep their friendly public reputation intact.

They were now official and respected ambassadors of the New Bodhum region of Pulse. They'd soothed their little costal town into peace once more and spoke up for their needs. NORA was an identity that faded out of the public awareness with ease, but they had never abandoned the premise. It was just a little ironic to suggest they had no authority when that was precisely what they were.

Yuj and Lebreau both had positions working in Intelligence sectors of the young government that was slowly starting to come together. It was a pleasant democracy that was only just beginning to stabilize. It'd been a rough road to get there.

The Reformed PSICOM had wheedled a lot of power into their hands though and it was taking time to pluck them out. They had abandoned their false title of 'Pulse Guardian Committee' and even admitted outright that it was just a new name for the same old PSICOM. Apparently, putting the word 'Reform' before their name soothed people enough into believing things would be okay this time but PSICOM had managed to sit people of their choosing in key positions in the government so they could get around a great number of things. Their positions in Intelligence meant Yuj and Lebreau had found them out and were cooperating internationally to counter PSICOM, slowly - sneakily.

This mission would prove that a lot of the information PSICOM helped feed to the public was a lie. One of their most recent claims had been that Cocoon was now a land dense in cie'th population and making it habitable again would take decades. None of NORA believed that for one minute. The whole of New Bodhum didn't believe it. And a lot of the world were skeptical - because what _proof _was there that PSICOM had brought to validate their claims.

_Nil_.

"I don't wanna... I don't wanna make everyone worry and all, because we're already like, sky high... wait, no - not high as in off our faces, but I mean height-wise it's really big - we're really big worried and everything, and I know that... but you see, I thought about it, and it's a really crazy thought-"

"Maqui," warned Gadot as the boy rambled out a bunch of half-sentences.

"What if they ARE all cie'th!?"

Yuj was sat next to Maqui who was piloting the ship. He pinged out a toothpick from his mouth so it hit the blondes cheek and earned a small utterance of pain.

"You fly in the right direction, we'll worry about the big-boy stuff," he advised, sitting up and turning to the others behind him. "But shit-for-brains does have a point."

"Whilst there's still the tiniest chance of hope still alive, we're not going to think like that," answered Snow. "Put it out of your mind until we get there and see for ourselves."

There were no objections from any members of NORA.

* * *

Once they'd gotten close enough to Cocoon to drift around in the air, they'd started checking for signs of life and had been greeted with exactly what they wanted to see. They spoke strategy before they landed and agreed to stick together and landed a while away from where life seemed to be in order not to just enter right into the thick of an unknown situation.

"I expected it to look a bit more... lifeless, you know?" said Maqui, jumping up and down in the squishy mud which indicted rainfall just a few days prior.

"It's only been 3 years, idiot!" laughed Lebreau, ruffling his hair and linking arms with him to pull him along because he was lagging behind.

"I thought you said there was monsters here," grunted Gadot, on full alert.

"There is, actually," piped up Maqui. "I saw a carcass a bit away and it was definitely not something I ever saw on Cocoon before. Maybe we just got lucky?"

"Yeah well, luck don't last forever... someone's comin', Boss."

"I hear... take cover," warned Snow, bringing his gun up to his chest and ducking behind a tree.

There was a sound of heavy treading from boots coming from an indeterminate location. Gadot crouched behind a bush and Yuj crouched behind Gadot. Lebreau hauled Maqui next to her beside a tree. All of NORA held their breath.

"SPOTTED!" cried a voice.

"Ah, shit..." hissed Snow. He was sure the sounds were coming from ahead. It seemed they were cornered on all sides. Guns were aimed in their general direction and any resistance was futile. Snow stepped out, dropping his gun on the floor and holding his arms up.

A figure stepped forward, turning the laser on his gun on and pointing at Snow's forehead which intimidated him to no end but he kept his jaw firm and posture as slack and calm as possible.

"Get the others up and check them over. You," said the apparently leader, pointing at two people beside him. The voice belonged to a male... or a woman with lots of testosterone. "Check the big doofus over."

"Doofus? Hey now, we just met!" said Snow smoothly, holding his arms out and taking his coat off to hand it to one of the troopers.

"That's what you think," chuckled the leader.

He pulled down the fabric covering the lower half of his face and lifted up his protective goggles, letting go of his gun in the process which swung down to his side. Snow raised a brow, then slowly his expression changed in to complete awe.

"Woah..."

"So uh, what... brings you to Cocoon?" grinned Hope awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders whilst raising his hands and waving them casually as possible. It looked like a pathetic attempt at jazz-hands.

"Woah!" Snow repeated.

* * *

a/n II: Happy reunion!

I suspect I'm going to end up splitting this into two stories and having a sequel.


	12. Chapter 12

a/n: I've decided that I'll post new chapters every Wednesday and Saturday just for a bit of structure for myself more than anything so bear that in mind. Otherwise, enjoy!

* * *

Fiala purred back at the cat which was purring at her. She wondered if that was weird - decided it probably was - then decided she didn't care. It was her cat, she'd do with it as she pleased.

She was waiting for Hope to get back. He'd responded to another foreign airship sighting and though Fiala had wanted to beg him not to go, what choice did he have? He couldn't be seen to be backing out of something - he was a leader. But the last time this had happened - 2 people had died. And she'd signed the death warrant for one of them. She couldn't go through that again. She'd put in a call to Even and told him to standby, ready for casualties. Even had no qualms about doing something so callous and his knowledge _was _superior to hers.

She'd gone around and found some small comforts to distract herself. A bag of chocolates in the cupboard were nabbed. One of the various shirts Hope left on his bedroom floor was slung over her shoulders as a pajama top for her because it had his scent on and it made her feel less lonely. The cat was tucked under her arm and she grabbed a book - a novel, for once - and set about enjoying herself as much as she could.

About quarter of the way into her book, the door was thrown open and she bolted up to greet whoever was entering their home. It was Hope himself and she beamed brightly. He didn't look sad either, so something must have gone right. She stood up to approach when a small army of strangers sauntered in behind him, making her step back cautiously. She wasn't fond of faces she didn't recognize; this automatic defense barrier put itself up.

Hope approached her and took one of her hands gently, tugging her forward. She shook her head slightly and stayed where she was, turning the tables and pulling him closer to her instead. He bumped into her lightly and put his arm round her shoulder to keep them both upright.

"Fiala, I know it was a while back, but do you remember Snow?" he asked, stepping to the side and pointing at a tall blonde man in a black coat.

Fiala squinted and scrutinized his appearance. The name, as the very least, rang a bell. And Hope had often talked about him too, often in an admiring fashion. It finally clicked when the man gave her a crooked grin and thumbs up.

"You tried to help us out in the beginning!" she gaped. "What are you doing here!? I saw you get taken away on that ship!"

"We came back... are... you two a..?" asked Snow, pointing at Hope and Fiala. She now had her arm wrapped around his and Hope was doing nothing to throw her off.

"Friends?!" choked up Hope, his voice raising in pitch slightly. Fiala blinked at him in surprise. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was nervous. "We've stuck together since then, w-we're really good _friends_!"

"Okay," said Snow, holding his hands up defensively. He stepped forward and offered his hand out to Fiala, and she hesitantly shook it as not to be rude. "Should introduce myself properly, maybe. I'm Snow."

"Fiala," she smiled, then looking around him to the other four people loitering around. They all waved tiredly.

"Yuj, Maqui, Gadot, Lebreau..." explained Hope, pointing at them in order. Fiala wouldn't remember any of their names in the morning. "But maybe we should leave proper introductions for the morning. I'm sure you're all tired."

Trust Hope to be sensible and to the point. Fiala smiled absentmindedly at his seriousness. He did receive a series of nods and grunts of agreement though.

"This is a three bed house and there are seven of us. I don't think I need to point out that some of you need to share," said Fiala, shuffling awkwardly as everyone looked at her.

"Me and Fiala will sleep on the sofa," offered Hope.

"No, I'll take the sofa," said Snow, walking over and lazing out across the seats. "I love me a good sofa. Oh, hey kitty!" he cooed as the cat wandered over his torso to greet him.

"Raphael, get down!" grunted Hope.

"He's fine!" insisted Fiala and Snow at the same time, grinning after. Hope rolled his eyes.

"In case you forgot, my fiancee is a crazy cat lady," chuckled Snow. "I think we'll have more cats, than kids when the day comes."

"Okay... uh, you guys..." said Hope, turning to the others.

"Are all the beds doubles?" asked Lebreau.

"Yeah."

"Great. Then I'll share with Big Guy," she said, patting Gadot's chest. "And Yuj, Maqui, you two suck it up and share."

"Awh, Lebreau!" whined Maqui, throwing his arms about as if having a childish tantrum.

"If **I **bed with Gadot, I'll punch him when he rolls over onto me. If **you **bed with Gadot, guys, you'll be flattened and NORA will be down one member."

"I don't roll," grumbled Gadot shortly.

"Whatever. You're lucky we're being put up at _all_ because they really don't have to," said Lebreau, tapping her foot in a warning gesture. "So are you going to complain, or are you going to take what you're given?"

"Take what we're given," mumbled Yuj and Maqui.

* * *

"Is that my shirt?" asked Hope as he kicked stuff out of his way. Fiala chuckled and leaped into bed the second he pulled the covers back.

"Maybe," she teased, snuggling up to the wall.

"That's my side!"

"Not anymore."

"Whatever," he tutted, falling haphazardly into bed beside her. "And stop stealing my shirts."

"No, they're kind of comfy. Plus, they're all just plain black and white. Do you really need that many plain black and white shirts?"

"Yes. One for every day of the week but double."

"That's at least 7 pointless shirts. No, that's 11 pointless shirts!"

"Shut up," he grumbled kneeing her lightly under the covers. "Snow said he had some interesting news for us about Pulse."

"Oh, what was it?" she asked, sitting up.

"Think about it tomorrow, Fi. Let's go to sleep," he yawned, petting her head. His hand slid down off her shoulder and hit the bed with a soft sound of impact. He was already asleep.


End file.
